CLOSING LOOPHOLES PASSES PARLIAMENT

The Albanese Labor Government has today passed its Closing Loopholes Bill through Parliament.

This Bill closes loopholes that certain employers use to undercut wages, conditions and safety for Australian workers.

The Government has today passed laws to:

  • Stop companies underpaying workers through the use of labour hire

  • Criminalise intentional wage theft

  • Introduce a new criminal offence of industrial manslaughter

  • Ensure better support first responders with PTSD

  • Protect workers subjected to family and domestic violence from discrimination at work

  • Expand the functions of the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency to include silica

  • Close the loophole in which large businesses claim small business exemptions during insolvency to avoid redundancy payments

We know that many Australians are doing it tough right now dealing with the cost of living.

Getting wages moving is a key part of the Government’s plan to help Australians deal with that.

To do that – we need to stop the underpayment of workers.

The legislation passed today does that.

It also improves safety and conditions for workers.

Peter Dutton and the Coalition had an opportunity today to vote to protect workers’ wages, safety and conditions.

Once again they chose not to.

They’ve now voted 36 times against legislation to get wages moving.

They spent a decade in government deliberately keeping wages low – admitting it was a deliberate design feature of their economic architecture.

They might be in Opposition now – but nothing has changed. They still want to keep wages low and hold workers back.
We’re taking the opposite approach. Getting wages moving again is a deliberate design feature of the Albanese Labor Government.

There have now been two consecutive quarters where real wages are growing.

Wages growth came in at 4 per cent in the September quarter – the highest quarterly growth in the 26-year history of the Wage Price Index

Under the Albanese Labor Government unemployment is at historic lows, wages are moving again after a decade of stagnation, industrial action has fallen and the gender pay gap is at the lowest level on record.

Other important elements of Closing Loopholes – including minimum standards for digital platform gig workers, road transport industry reforms and a better deal for casual workers who want to become permanent – will be considered by the Senate early next year.

ENDS

Tony Burke